A Republican Congressman Says Putting Harriet Tubman on the $20 Bill Is Racist and Sexist

Abolitionist heroine Harriet Tubman is set to make history as the first African-American woman to appear on American money in 2020, when she will replace Andrew Jackson on the front of the $20 bill. The announcement by the U.S Treasury this April was a triumphant one, but not so for Representative Steve King. This week, the Republican from Iowa zapped congressional airtime with a proposal that would have blocked Tubman’s appearance on the bill before it ever happened.

King’s backward logic? It’s “racist” and “sexist” to add a woman or person of color to American currency. “This is liberal activism on the part of the President that’s trying to identify people by categories, and he’s divided us on the lines of groups,” King said, according to Politico. “This is a divisive proposal on the part of the President, and mine’s unifying. It says just don’t change anything.” He continued, pulling a $20 bill from his pocket: “It’s not about Harriet Tubman; it’s about keeping the picture on the $20 bill. Why would you want to change that? I am a conservative, I like to keep what we have.”

Noted, Steve King—except “keeping what we have” means continuing to ignore the critical historical achievements of women and people of color. In the case of Tubman, freeing hundreds of slaves as a conductor of the Underground Railroad. Fortunately, the House denied a vote on King’s proposal, effectively leaving it dead in the water. But the attempt to link Tubman’s appearance on the $20 (she will oust Jackson, the former president and slaveholder, to the back of the bill) to some sort of vast liberal conspiracy to—gasp!—actually acknowledge women and people of color will likely continue. Donald Trump has called the Tubman $20 bill “pure political correctness,” and alternately suggested she appear on the essentially nonexistent $2 bill.